You'd think with the threat of tariff-related price hikes constantly looming, prices on Bandai Gundam model kits would be way over retail, but that's not necessarily true. Case in point, Amazon is currently offering the Bandai Strike Freedom Gundam Perfect Grade Model Kit for $219.99. This is sold and shipped by Amazon directly, not a marketplace reseller. This kit retails for around $300 but prices have hovered closer to $250-$260 for most of 2025. This is one of the biggest and most display-worthy Gundam sets you can get for under $300, and would make an amazing gift idea this holiday season for any Gundam superfan or hobby model enthusiast.

Bandai Strike Freedom Gundam PG Kit for $219.99

If you’re already jonesing for another fix of The Boys now that the spinoff series Gen V just wrapped Season 2, you’re in luck. Prime Video just dropped the first teaser trailer for The Boys Season 5 at CCXP Brazil. In the process, we’ve gotten our first glimpse of a new world order where Antony Starr’s Homelander truly reigns supreme.

As any good teaser should, this footage raises more questions than it answers about the new season. So while we wait for the May 2026 premiere, let’s break down the biggest burning questions surrounding the fifth and final season of The Boys.

Is the Team Really United This Time?

Season 4 ended on a particularly dark note for our heroes. Now that the new US President has pledged loyalty to Homelander, Vought’s superhuman figurehead is effectively in charge of the most powerful nation on Earth. Most of the team has been captured by Vought and thrown into one of the company’s “Freedom Camps.” Erin Moriarty’s Starlight is now a fugitive, left to mount a desperate resistance on her own. And, as ever, Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher remains the wild card. He’s got a deadly array of new powers and a willingness to use every weapon at his disposal to finally bring down Homelander.

The teaser makes it clear that this is basically the status quo heading into the new season. However, it also doesn’t dance around the fact that it’s only going to be a matter of time before Starlight rescues her comrades and the team gets back together. Even Butcher is hooking up with his old friends again, despite Season 4’s ending making it seem like he was going to be a chaotic free agent.

The question is how long this unity can actually last. The show has always focused a great deal on the tension between Butcher and his teammates. He’s willing to go to extremes they won’t in the name of punishing Vought. That certainly seems to be the case with Season 5, as we know Butcher is preparing to unleash a Thomas Godolkin-designed supe-killing virus on the world. How long until the team fractures again?

It’s an especially pointed question in the final season of the series, given how the comic ended. We won’t get into spoilers here, but as much as Homelander is the main antagonist of both versions, the comic really comes down to the rivalry between Butcher and Hughie in the end. Can this team stop Vought and Homelander and still retain their souls in the process? Or is Butcher’s way now a necessity in this dark new era?

Where Are the Gen V Characters?

Gen V Season 2 certainly wrapped with a major twist, as Jaz Sinclair’s Marie Moreau and her Godolkin University classmates wound up meeting with Starlight and Jesse L. Usher’s A-Train and joining their fledgling resistance movement. It’s unclear whether Gen V has a future on Prime Video, but it is safe to say that these characters have a part to play in the final season of The Boys.

Unfortunately, the teaser doesn’t give us any indication of what their roles might be. Marie and her friends are completely MIA in this footage. Does that mean we should expect them to play more of a supporting role in Season 5? Or is Kripke simply keeping his cards close to the vest?

“They’re trying to mount a real push, but they’re also outgunned, outmanned," Kripke told THR. "You’re in an entire country that has drunk Homelander’s Kool-Aid. They’re outmatched by the size of the hundreds of superheroes that are in every town across the country, who have been given authority over the police. So it really is a true underground resistance against a fascist government, which definitely has no comparison or parallel to anything going on anywhere in the world.”

We do expect Marie herself to be an important figure in Season 5, as she’s effectively the best weapon the resistance has against Vought. She may be the only person on Earth besides Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy with the power to kill Homelander. One way or another, we suspect that power will be put to the test.

Who Is Jared Padalecki Playing?

Supernatural fans are in for a real treat in Season 5, as Kripke has orchestrated a full-fledged reunion of the beloved horror series. Not only is Ackles reprising his role as Soldier Boy, but the other Winchester brother, Jared Padalecki, is joining the cast. And if that weren’t enough, Misha Collins is also joining the series at some point in Season 5.

Unfortunately, we still don’t know the identity of Padalecki’s character after watching the teaser. We only see him appear in a single shot alongside Soldier Boy and Homelander, suggesting he’s playing a villain. So who is he? What connection does he have to this fearsome superhero family? Is he once again playing the brother of Ackles’ character, or someone else entirely?

And what about Collins’ character? We don’t see him at all in the new teaser. We can only hope the show contrives some way of getting all three actors together on-screen for at least one scene.

What’s Sister Sage Up to Now?

Susan Heyward’s Sister Sage has easily been one of the best additions to The Boys universe in recent years. She’s the smartest woman in the world, and we saw proof of that in Season 4 when she managed to orchestrate Homelander’s rise to the top of the political food chain. For Sage, it was nothing more than an intellectual exercise to break up an existence dominated by boredom.

Sage also wound up playing a significant role in Gen V Season 2, where she similarly helped Ethan Slater’s Thomas Godolkin manipulate his way back to full health. In that case, Sage was motivated by more personal desires, as she and Godolkin were lovers. But, ultimately, Sage was forced to help sabotage Godolkin’s plan after it became clear he wasn’t content to simply enjoy his newfound freedom.

So what motivates Sage now? What does she want? How does she fit into Homelander’s regime? Is it possible that she regrets the chaos she helped wreak and will start working against Homelander? Or is she fully on board? If the latter, she might well be the most dangerous enemy Annie and her team have to face in Season 5.

Who Is Homelander Punching?

The Season 5 teaser trailer is dominated by a recurring scene of Homelander viciously, methodically punching an enemy. That raises the obvious question: Who is he punching? Our first thought would be Butcher, but let’s not forget just how ridiculously strong Homelander is. For any opponent to withstand multiple blows, they would have to be very strong themselves. Do Butcher’s new powers extend far enough to withstand that?

There are certainly other options. Homelander could be fighting dear old dad, beating Soldier Boy to a bloody pulp. It could be another of his superhero “allies,” as Homelander is definitely mercurial at the best of times. All we can say for sure is that he seems to be particularly invested in this one-sided battle. We can’t wait until Season 5 drops so we can find out who the unlucky person is on the receiving end of Homelander’s mighty fist.

The Boys Season 2 will premiere on Prime Video on April 8, 2026, culminating in the series finale on May 20.

There's more to come from The Boys universe after Season 5 ends, of course. While Gen V Season 3 remains up in the air, the prequel spinoff Vought Rising is confirmed. That's said to explore the early days of The Boys’ nefarious mega corporation, Vought International. And then there's The Boys: Mexico, executive produced by Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal and written by Blue Beetle scribe Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Bowflex isn't the only option when it comes to adjustable dumbbell sets. NordicTrack is another trusted brand at a much lower price point. For a limited time, Amazon has discounted the NordicTrack Select-a-Weight Adjustable Dumbbells to just $249.98. That's over $200 less than a comparable set of Bowflex SelectTechs. The set includes two adjustable dumbells with a maximum 55 pounds of weights each (or 110 pounds total). You also get free shipping on a package that's going to weigh over 100 pounds. This is a fantastic gift idea for anyone (including yourself) who plans on getting stronger as part of a New Year's resolution. Order them now and you're pretty much guaranteed to receive them before Christmas.

NordicTrack Adjustable Dumbbells (55lbs per Dumbbell)

Management sim Esports Manager 2026, from developer Neurona Games and publishing platform indie.io, just released a new demo on Steam that gives an in-depth look at the systems that will be present in the final game.

As you could probably guess from the name, the game puts you in the role of a manager of an esports organization and challenges you to lead it to victory. The demo focuses on the three key systems that define the gameplay: talent acquisition, management of staff and players, and match simulation.

You can create your own organization from scratch or take control of a real esports organization, like EternalFire, Copenhagen Wolves, M80, and GamerLegion, and additional teams will be added when the game fully releases. And with the Transfer Module, you can scout, buy, and sell players, including real-life players like @neLendirekt, @BanKsEsports, @PiNGCasts, @bit1, and many more.

Each player has ratings in several different categories. Some define their technical gaming ability, like their skill with different weapon types or how clutch they are. Others define their personality, like leadership, amicability, and loyalty. And still others define their physical attributes, like eyesight, reaction time, and endurance.

You’ll be competing with other organizations for their services, negotiating contracts and building a roster that best aligns with your current goal. Timing and market conditions will affect these negotiations, so your strategy might need to change as circumstances do. And you’ll need to balance your income, expenses, and sponsorships to keep your organization from going bankrupt.

Once you’ve built your team, you can use the Talk Module to communicate directly with your players and staff members to manage their growth, morale, and relationships. You set training plans to improve players’ skills, but you also need to keep an eye on their well-being and how they’re feeling. You don’t want to overwork them or wear them down. You’ll also need to monitor how your players and staff members feel about each other and resolve any conflicts that might come up. It’s all part of the nitty gritty of running an organization; it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an esports team without the actual esports. Using the Simulation Module, you’ll take the team you’ve built into tournaments, where you can watch it perform in semi-3D simulated matches. Will all your hard work pay off in a tournament win? Or will it be clear you need to develop your team more? There’s no way to know until you actually see them in action. And with the Tactic Creator, you can design and test strategies that you can use during simulations.

These systems make up the core gameplay loop of Esports Manager 2026, and about 70% of the final systems are present in the demo. The demo doesn’t limit the real-life amount of time you can play it, but it is limited to one in-game month. That’s plenty of time to go through the full process of creating your manager profile, choosing a team, building your roster, communicating with players, signing up for a tournament, and going through simulated matches.

While most of the core gameplay is there, the developers have also made it clear that more is on the way. In particular, match simulations will be significantly expanded and more complex, with added options for tactical control and in-game events. And, of course, everything that’s present in the demo will be further balanced and polished between now and release.

Like the full game, the demo is meant to be replayed to test out new strategies and experience more of what it has to offer. And it should give you a pretty accurate idea of the scope of the final game. The demo is available to download on Steam now, and if you want to get the latest updates, you can follow Esports Manager 2026 on Twitter or Discord.

Black Friday is well behind us, but gamers looking to upgrade their gaming PC before the end of the year still have an opportunity to do so at a great price. Dell (Alienware) is offering an Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC equipped with an RTX 5080 PC starting at just $1,850. It's complemented with an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, but since this is a customizable configuration, you can upgrade specs for an extra cost. Alienware normally commands a high price, so this is a great opportunity to stay within budget and still get performance without compromising on quality.

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC From $1,850

Fortnite is thawing out the Infinity Blade, arguably the game's most controversial weapon ever, for an appearance in the next season of its OG battle royale mode.

Beginning this Thursday, December 11, Fortnite OG will shift to Chapter 1 Season 7, and let players experience the game's beloved retro season where all the snow turned up and we got to fly around in planes.

It was a brilliant season, though one that will go down in Fortnite history as one of the most divisive — as Epic Games also introduced the Mythic-quality Infinity Blade sword that was notoriously overpowered. Only one Infinity Blade spawned each match, and lobbies turned into an absolute mess over who nabbed the game-breaking item first.

I remember enjoying the brief disruption to the game's meta, which was turned on its head and has never seen anything quite like it since (perhaps for good reason). Because, after significant outcry, the Infinity Blade was made unplayable and literally frozen into its pedestal after only a few days, never to be used again — until now.

Epic Games has not said when it intends to unvault the Infinity Blade, or for how long. It's possible the weapon will be offered at full strength for a brief period, or it could have been rebalanced — for now, players have been left to speculate.

Daniel Kaluuya recently teased his upcoming Spider-Punk animated feature, revealing where he and cowriter Ajon Singh are in their development alongside Sony Pictures.

The actor confirmed he and Singh are in the “finishing stages” of a first draft of the script for the project, in a recent interview with Deadline, and explained: “We’re in our process.” That said, Kaluuya was tight-lipped when it came to plot details, with his only response about whether the film would be a standalone project or if other characters from the Spider-Verse would appear being “TBD.”

Kaluuya, who garnered an Oscar nomination for his role in Get Out, also revealed that the “intense” response to his character Spider-Punk in the 2023 film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse laid the groundwork for this project. “It’s exciting to be writing something in this space,” he said in the interview.

He added: “Those Spider-Verse films, they speak to me. I was so inspired by them. I think the filmmakers and the animators are some of the best storytellers in the game. So, I want to put myself in environments where I can grow and learn what they know.”

Kaluuya also noted that Spider-Verse writers Phil Lord — who Kaluuya called a “great storyteller” alongside cowriter Christopher Miller during the interview — previously gave him a crucial note in an early treatment of the film that shaped his perspective: “films aren’t about people, they’re about relationships.”

“They also tap into a joy of cinema and storytelling and animation,” he added of the filmmaking duo. “And I think joy is so hard to do and that’s something I’m aspiring for. They love what they do and that’s what the audience is really feeling.”

Kaluuya is set to reprise his role as Hobart “Hobie” Brown aka Spider-Punk in 2027’s Beyond the Spider-Verse, but it appears he will also do so in this new film, whenever it hits theaters in the near future.

Spider-Punk first appeared in Marvel comics in 2015 as a homeless teenager who becomes a hero to the citizens of New York in his own universe, sporting the same powers as Peter Parker but with a deep affinity for punk rock. This grungy Spider-Man is the leader of an underground resistance against Norman Osborn's authoritarian rule, and he's not completely sold on the idea of the Spider Society.

It's a busy time for Spider-Man generally. Production on Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day is underway (as everyone in Glasgow, Scotland knows), with a July 31, 2026 release date. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse arrives a year later, on June 18, 2027. There’s also Spider-Noir, a live-action Prime Video series starring Nicolas Cage, due out next year.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Nintendo Switch 2 early adopters have been eating good since launch. We've finally got Metroid Prime 4, Kirby Air Riders is pretty much Smash Bros. racing, DK Bananza is one of the best 3D platformers Nintendo has ever put out and so much more. Plus there's more to come this holiday, with a highlight for me personally being Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension DLC dropping this week.

TL;DR: Deals for Today

It's a good time to get into audiobooks right now too thanks to the Audible Holiday Sale, which includes a 3 months rolling membership of Premium Plus for $0.9 per month and some massive discounts on big titles. Secret Lab has started its holiday discounts too, including some new releases. Need a gaming PC to go with that chair and desk? Alienware and Lenovo have a solution for every budget, so let's get into it:

Fantik S1 Ace Precision Screwdriver Set for $21.99

Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle

Switch 2 Games Releasing This Holiday

December is stacked for Nintendo Switch 2. We gave Metroid Prime 4: Beyond a solid 8/10 for nailing the Prime vibe whilst introducing some interesting mechanics and a pseudo open-world sandbox to explore. Considering how long we've been waiting for it, Metroid 4 is a solid comeback.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension DLC drops on Wednesday, which adds a post-game story, brand new Mega Evolutions and new mechanics such as an alternative dimension Luminoise City and Pokémon hitting over the long-standing level 100 mechanic. Insane.

Audible Holiday Sale

Fancy knocking a $14.95 per month subscription to 99 cents for three months? That's what's on offer for Amazon Prime members right now, which can easily be cancelled down before the discount dries if you don't want to continue, win-win.

Whilst Audible Plus, the cheaper membership tier, has 10,000 audiobooks to listen too, Premium Plus has 500,000. Premium Plus members get to pick an audiobook to keep in their library indefinitely too, with 30% off purchasable Audiobooks. Usually this crops up as a free 30-day trial, and these trials are only for new subscribers, so this is the best deal you're going to get.

Mega Evolution Booster Box

Secret Lab Holiday Sale

It's no secret that Secretlab is one of the most premium gaming chairs and brands available right now, and the brand tax is real. But straight off the heels of Black Friday, Secretlab have dropped their Christmas Holiday Sale across all the favorites. The super premium Titan Evo Nanogen Edition features a Secretlab-exclusive NanGen Hybrid Leathette seat covering and NanoFoam Composite cushioning for one of the best feeling gaming chairs on the market,

Even the budget-minded Titan Evo Lite has premium features and coldfoam cusioning to make sure you're comfortable all day working and all night gaming. They even do an erganomic recliner add on now, featuring multiple angles of support to keep your legs comfortable for different posture types.

Alienware and Lenovo Gaming PC Deals

It's easy to get carried away with mad specifications on gaming PCs, and if you can afford it that's awesome. But builds like Lenovo's LOQ RTX 5060Ti build has a cracking budget price of $949.99 after using the discount code "EXTRAFIVE", capable of DLSS 4 upscaling and the latest Nvidia AI frame generation. The Ryzen 7 8745HX CPU backs up the 5060 Ti well, making this a lean and mean 1080p gaming monster.

Out of the two Alienware builds, i'd save the money and go for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 build. Both of these builds are going to kill it when it comes to high frame rate 4K gaming, and I simply don't think the extra $350 is worth it for the extra gains of a Core Ultra 9 285K CPU. Of course it's faster and better, but I think the $3,899.99 build is far better value for money.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

The Assassin's Creed series' recent trend of featuring dual protagonists has sometimes been "divisive", the associate game director of this year's Assassin's Creed Shadows has said — acknowledging that the choice between nimble shinobi Naoe and hulking samurai Yasuke had been a particularly notable example of this.

Shadows' development is headed up by Ubisoft Quebec, the studio behind Victoria London-set Assassin's Creed Syndicate and Ancient Greece RPG Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Both also featured dual protagonists, though in different ways.

"The differences between Evie and Jacob were mostly cosmetic," associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois told GamesRadar+. "They play very, very similarly, except with very few select skills." Shadows, by comparison, was specifically designed to be "an exercise in contrast" — something that "can split our fan base a little."

These aren't the only Assassin's Creed games to feature multiple protagonists, of course. The Ancient Egypt-set Origins lets you play as both husband and wife Bayek and Aya, even if the latter only gets a sliver of screentime. Viking-era Valhalla also offered male and female versions of hero Eivor, meanwhile, for complicated story-related reasons (but also so Ubisoft could have a man on the game's box).

More than any other Assassin's Creed game before it, however, Shadows' two protagonists are built as different people. Their abilities are different, their combat systems are different, and they are treated as two different yet equal characters to play the game's main quest as.

"Dual protagonists can be divisive along very strange lines, right?" Lemay-Comtois said. "It's not just a 'well, I prefer a war, therefore I prefer Yasuke.' Some people just don't like one character over the other, and they don't like to spend time with one. It was true with Evie and Jacob, but with Naoe and Yasuke it's more divisive," he continued. "And we knew this. We knew going into it, but I think it can split our fan base a little too."

With this in mind, will Ubisoft continue offering dual protagonists in future — for example in the upcoming Assassin's Creed Hexe? "I think the learning for us is that, yes, we could do more dual-protagonist games in the future – if we have a good reason to do it narratively and for the setting," Lemay-Comtois concluded.

Ubisoft's next Assassin's Creed project expected to release will be the still-unannounced Black Flag remake that's reportedly set to launch in spring 2026. This features pirate Edward Kenway as its star, with no second mate during the game's main campaign.

As for Assassin's Creed Shadows, little is known of Ubisoft's plans to support the game through next year. The company had initially expected to release a second major expansion, following this fall's Claws of Awaji, but Ubisoft has said that plans shifted when Shadows was delayed — and now, next year's add-on content will be smaller in nature.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

It's almost time to welcome in 2026, the year that we finally get to play Grand Theft Auto 6. But there's still a few days left to celebrate the greatest hits of this year, and that's exactly what the IGN Awards 2025 is here to do. There was a massive stack of great games, movies, and TV shows this year, and we want to honor the very best of the past 12 months of pop-culture.

This was the year when the long, long development of Hollow Knight: Silksong finally ended, and proved that good things really do come to those who wait. But 2025 was just as much about fresh faces as it was long-awaited sequels, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from new studio Sandfall Interactive being the topic of at least half of all gaming conversation for most of the year. Over on the big screen, the bluesy horror action of Sinners and the break-neck thrills of One Battle After Another had us on the edges of our seats, and in our living rooms we were glued to the twists and turns of Severance's second season and leafing through issues of Batman: Dark Patterns. All of these brilliant titles and more are nominated for one of our end-of-year awards.

Here we present the full list of nominees for the 2025 IGN Awards. Starting on Monday, December 15, and continuing throughout the week, we will announce the winners of our Best Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo game awards, the Best Movie, Best TV Show, and Best Anime, plus many more categories. This week of awards will culminate on Friday, December 19, where we will reveal IGN’s Game of the Year. Be sure to check back to this page every day, which will be updated with all of the winners as they are announced.

Before we start, a note about our platform-specific awards. We've not typically mandated that games on the best PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo shortlists have to be platform exclusives, but we've usually tried to choose games that are notably "aligned" with each console. This year, in recognition of shifting industry trends, we've decided that any game published on these platforms is fair game, regardless of exclusivity. The resulting shortlists tell an interesting story about how multi-platform, third-party games shaped each console in 2025 as much as their exclusives.

The IGN Awards are voted for by our content team, who are the people that create everything you read and watch on IGN, from social posts to in-depth reviews and multi-page guides. But we don't just want to tell you what we think was best this year: we want to know what you loved, too. Vote for your favourite games, movies, shows and more in the polls below.

The Best Game of 2025

• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

The Best Movie of 2025

• Frankenstein
• KPop Demon Hunters
• One Battle After Another
• Marty Supreme
• Sinners
• Weapons

The Best TV Show of 2025

• Alien: Earth (season 1)
• Andor (season 2)
• The Pitt (season 1)
• Pluribus (season 1)
• The Rehearsal (season 2)
• Severance (season 2)

The Best Anime Series of 2025

• Apothecary Diaries (season 2)
• Dan Da Dan (season 2)
• Takopi's Original Sin
• The Summer Hikaru Died
• Zenshu

The Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel of 2025

• Absolute Wonder Woman
• Assorted Crisis Events
• Batman: Dark Patterns
• Drome
• Ice Cream Man

The Best PlayStation Game of 2025

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Dispatch
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

The Best Xbox Game of 2025

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Keeper
• The Outer Worlds 2
• Split Fiction

The Best Nintendo Game of 2025

• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Kirby Air Riders
• Mario Kart World

The Best PC Game of 2025

• Blue Prince
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Hades 2
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

The Best RPG of 2025

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
• The Outer Worlds 2
• Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

The Best Action-Adventure Game of 2025

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Split Fiction

The Best Action Game of 2025

• The First Berserker: Khazan
• Hades 2
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Ninja Gaiden 4
• Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

The Best Shooter Game of 2025

• Arc Raiders
• Battlefield 6
• Borderlands 4
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Marvel Rivals*

*While Marvel Rivals was released in December 2024, it arrived too late to be considered for last year's IGN Awards. We have decided to make it eligible for this year's awards instead.

The Best Roguelike Game of 2025

• Ball x Pit
• Blue Prince
• Elden Ring Nightreign
• Hades 2
• Monster Train 2

The Best Puzzle Game of 2025

• Blue Prince
• Is This Seat Taken?
• Keeper
• Lumines Arise
• The Séance of Blake Manor

The Best Strategy Game of 2025

• Anno 117: Pax Romana
• Europa Universalis 5
• The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
• Monster Train 2
• Two Point Museum

The Best Remake or Remastered Game of 2025

• Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake
• The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
• Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles
• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
• Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

The Best Art Direction in a Video Game of 2025

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• South of Midnight

The Best Video Game Music/Score of 2025

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Hades 2
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

The Best Performance in a Video Game of 2025

• Aaron Paul (Robert Robertson/Mecha Man, Dispatch)
• Ben Starr (Verso, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
• Erika Ishii (Atsu, Ghost of Yotei)
• Jennifer English (Maelle, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
• Konatsu Kato (Hinako Shimizu, Silent Hill f)

The Best Ensemble Cast in a Video Game of 2025

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Dispatch
• Ghost of Yotei
• Hades 2

The Best Performer in a Movie of 2025

• Amy Madigan (Gladys, Weapons)
• Chase Infiniti (Willa Ferguson, One Battle After Another)
• Jacob Elordi (The Creature, Frankenstein)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (Bob Ferguson, One Battle After Another)
• Michael B. Jordan (Elijah "Smoke" Moore and Elias "Stack" Moore, Sinners)
• Timothée Chalamet (Marty Mauser, Marty Supreme)

The Best Performer in a TV Show of 2025

• Babou Ceesay (Morrow, Alien: Earth)
• Genevieve O'Reilly (Mon Mothma, Andor)
• Noah Wyle (Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, The Pitt)
• Owen Cooper (Jamie Miller, Adolescence)
• Rhea Seehorn (Carol Sturka, Pluribus)

The Best Ensemble Cast in a TV Show or Movie of 2025

• Andor (season 2)
• One Battle After Another
• The Pitt (season 1)
• Severance (season 2)
• Sinners

The Best TV Episode of 2025

• Adolescence Season 1, Episode 3 - "Episode 3"
• Andor Season 2, Episode 8 - “Who Are You?”
• The Pitt Season 1, Episode 12 - "6:00 P.M."
• The Rehearsal Season 2, Episode 3 - "Pilot's Code"
• Severance Season 2, Episode 10 - "Cold Harbor"

The Best Superhero Movie of 2025

• The Fantastic Four: First Steps
• Superman
• Thunderbolts*

The Best Sci-Fi or Fantasy Movie of 2025

• Bugonia
• Companion
• Frankenstein
• Predator: Badlands
• Predator: Killer of Killers

The Best Horror Movie of 2025

• 28 Years Later
• Bring Her Back
• Sinners
• Together
• Weapons

Make sure to check back throughout the week starting December 15 as we will be unveiling new winners each day. IGN's Game of the Year 2025 will be announced on Friday, December 19!

Sometimes, even the best gaming chairs don’t offer sufficient room, support, or comfort if you’re bigger or taller. That means you need to find chairs designed with your size in mind, like the Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen XL. It’s a premium choice ready for gamers up to 6' 9" and 395lbs. Whether you’re on a budget, want an extra wide seat, or like the breathability of a mesh option, we’ve found great "oversized" gaming chairs for you to try out.

TL;DR – The Best Big and Tall Gaming Chairs:

A great seat is one of the best gaming accessories you can invest in, but the wealth of available gaming chairs is overwhelming, and many aren’t suited for larger-than-average gamers. You want to seek out wider seats, taller backs, higher load capacities, and solid ergonomics that ensure your ultimate comfort so you can focus on what matters: the game.

To help in the search, I’ve thoroughly tested and researched a range of seats that won’t come up short (literally!) no matter how long you’re gaming.

1. Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen XL

Best Big and Tall Gaming Chair

2. AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL

Best Budget Big and Tall Gaming Chair

The Anthros chair doesn't look like a chair for big and tall gamers, but make no mistake – its unique approach to back support centered on the pelvis means that it's able to cater to gamers and computer users of all sizes. It's well made and super comfortable once you get used to its unique method of support. It looks a little alien, but in my review of the Anthros Chair, I found that after a couple days of use, it's hard to go back to a normal lumbar-based desk chair.

Anthros got its start in the wheelchair business. The company is composed of a small team of health experts in designing chairs that people would be sitting in perpetuity. It developed a unique breadth of experience and insight into chair design that actually meets the needs of the human body.

In a meeting, one of Anthros' representatives, a practicing physical therapist, revealed to me that they had trialed virtually all of the leading office chairs and found that just about all of them missed the mark on what is actually required to support positive posture and relieve back pain generated by a wide range of causes. By centering the design of the Anthros Chair on the actual mechanics of the human body and leveraging their deep understanding of its interconnected nature, the Anthros Chair was born.

What makes this chair special is that instead of focusing on lumbar support and thoracic support like the majority of other ergonomic chairs, it instead focuses on pelvic support right at the base of your sit bones. This positions your spine forward, naturally supporting the curvature of the spine.

At first, it does feel a little strange. But once it's properly set up for your body and you've become acclimated to sitting with proper posture, it can feel downright refreshing to return to the Anthros after a traditional ergonomic chair, and especially a gaming chair. It also features one of the best seats I've ever used. It's wide, thickly padded, and has internal cutouts to relieve tension on your sit bones, enhancing your comfort without even realizing that it's doing anything differently in the moment.

There's something magic about this chair, but don't get confused. You should still be trying to stand regularly throughout the day. Even Anthros will say that no chair is a magic bullet. However, this is one that really does approach seating differently, and though very expensive, it clearly succeeds in its goals for postural support and all-day comfort.

The Haworth Fern Xbox Edition is one of the rare gaming chairs that's also designed with a deep focus on ergonomics, even if you're taller than average. Virtually every aspect of this chair is designed to ensure that you can game in comfort, whether you're playing for a short session on your phone or a full day at your gaming PC.

I reviewed the standard version of this chair earlier this year and was impressed at its blend of style, comfort, and support. Haworth has been a leader in the luxury office chair market for a number of years, but thanks to a recent partnership with Microsoft, we can officially call this a full-on gaming chair. Its multi-part backrest and highly adjustable, lushly padded seat cater to gamers big and small.

Photographs on the internet often make this chair look like it's designed for slim or even small gamers, but fret not: It's well equipped for users of all sizes. It features a max weight of 325lbs and can accommodate heights well over six feet. Its adjustments guarantee that you'll be able to dial in its supports no matter where you fall on the size spectrum.

If the Xbox branding isn't to your taste, Haworth offers a huge range of customization options when you order directly from its site. And if you find the price to be too high, there's a very active and deep aftermarket with the potential to offer massive savings. And when it's time for you to change out, there's a very good chance that you'll be able to recoup some of your investment to fund your next seat.

Move over Hinomi H1, there's a new H-model in town with the H2 Pro. I'll be reviewing this one soon, but the original was one of my favorite mesh chairs, and the H2 Pro aims to improve upon it in every way. This is exactly the kind of successor you hope to see, one that incorporates feedback and improves quality across the board. That makes this an easy recommendation for larger gamers looking for breathable mesh in their gaming chairs.

Like the original, this one isn't marketed as a gaming chair, but you'll be hard-pressed to find any so-called "gaming" chair quite as up to the task as this one is. The Hinomi H2 Pro masterfully blends ergonomic support and comfort with a level of adjustability and versatility that makes it the perfect companion for gaming at a desk or even in front of a TV, controller in hand.

Nearly every aspect of this chair is adjustable, from the lumbar support to the seat to the headrest. Everything is able to move up, down, in and out, and beyond to ensure it matches your body to a tee. The armrests continue to steal the show with their adaptability. You can adjust them to just about any position or even fold them out of the way entirely if you prefer the extra space.

The armrests aren't the only thing that folds away: Tucked beneath the seat is an integrated footrest. When you're ready to relax, you can slide it out and lock it into position and then unlock the recline feature so you can truly lean back and relax. Even more impressive is that the backrest of the chair is also able to fold down as a whole unit, allowing the H2 Pro to tuck cleanly under your desk, perfect if you're limited on space, such as an apartment or dorm room.

As the successor to the H1 Pro, the ease of use with these adjustments has been improved based on user feedback. Likewise, the frame has received a major upgrade and is now primarily made out of cast aluminum. The mesh has also been reworked to take on the appearance of an upholstered seat, giving it a softer feel and a more modern, stylish appearance.

There aren't many gaming chairs that even approach this level of adaptability and customizable comfort. The Hinomi H2 Pro is an easy recommendation for anyone in the market for a mesh chair, and especially bigger gamers that don't want to skimp of features or comfort.

One of our favorite video game deals over Black Friday and Cyber Monday was on Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. If it's one that slipped past you during the sales, Best Buy is here with a little bit of seasonal savings cheer, offering another opportunity to save on this game ahead of the holidays

As part of its Deal of the Day, Best Buy has dropped the price of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater to $39.99 for PS5 and Xbox Series X, knocking a whole $30 off its list price. While it got as low as $30 during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, this is still a stellar offer to jump on.

Keep in mind it won't be at that price for long, either. Offers from Best Buy's Deal of the Day page only last through the rest of the day, so act quickly to save on it.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater for $40

If you're still getting some holiday season shopping done and are looking for game deals after the big Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, Woot has plenty to offer right now. Its 'Video Game Mega Sale!' is still going strong with some excellent discounts, including on a wide variety of Nintendo Switch games.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder are just a few of the games on sale that caught our eye, but there's so many more to check out. Have a look through more of our favorite picks from Woot's sale below, and if you're curious to see everything that's discounted, head to the Video Game Mega Sale page here.

Save On Switch Games at Woot

An important thing to keep in mind is that all Nintendo Switch games are region-free, so if you come across a game deal from Woot's sale that says it's the 'International Version', it will still work just fine on your console.

What's especially nice about these deals is that certain games, such as Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Breath of the Wild, can be upgraded to their Switch 2 versions for a small fee. At these prices, you can buy the Switch 1 version and upgrade to the next-gen version for less than it costs to buy their Switch 2 editions. Even a game like Animal Crossing: New Horizons is worth buying now at this price, with its $5 upgrade pack on the horizon, compared to dropping the $64.99 on its boxed Switch 2 edition once it's out.

Plus, with the holidays coming up, now is a great time in general to take advantage of these deals if you're shopping for a Switch fan. Many of these offers even have a banner on them that says they'll arrive by Christmas, so you can have them just in time. This Woot sale also only runs for a limited time - until December 14 - and deals like these tend to sell out fast, so act quickly to grab the picks that catch your eye.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, in a dramatic new effort that could block Netflix from buying the company.

Last week, Netflix emerged as the winner of a lengthy bidding war for Warner Bros., and announced plans to buy much of the century-old company for $72.5 billion. Paramount had been Netflix's biggest rival throughout the process — and one which seemingly had the blessing of President Trump.

Now, Paramount has said it will go straight to Warner Bros. shareholders with its all-cash, $30-per-share offer. (Netflix’s potential deal was for a $27.75 mix of cash and stock, only for Warner Bros.' studio and streaming assets, while Paramount has said it wants the whole of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

"WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company," Paramount boss David Ellison said in a statement today, announcing his company's hostile bid. "Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion.

"We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process. We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”

While its difficult to compare the two companies' offers for Warner Bros. Discovery due to the different parts of the company each wants to provide, Ellison also suggests here that his deal was more likely to get approved — and get done quicker.

The suggestion comes following remarks made by President Trump over the weekend regarding Netflix's bid for Warner Bros., as reported by BBC News, in which he suggested the sale "could be a problem" as it would see Netflix's "big market share" in TV streaming potentially "go up by a lot." Trump has previously indicated he would be taking a personal interest in the deal, as it goes through the regulatory process.

The Golden Globe nominations for 2026 were announced today as part of a live presentation.

It’s a strong list of contenders for the 83rd Golden Globes, which includes 28 categories. The nominations were revealed on a livestream hosted by actor and comedian Marlon Wayans and actress Skye Marshall. On the TV side, the likes of Andor’s Diego Luna, The Pitt’s Noah Wyle, and Severance’s Adam Scott are all up for the Best Male Actor – Television – Drama category. Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Drama includes Britt Lower for Severance, Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us, and Helen Mirren for Mobland. The Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture category includes nominations for the likes of Adolescence and Black Mirror.

For movies, Sinners, Wicked: For Good, KPop Demon Hunters, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another were among the nominations. Indeed, One Battle After Another is the most-nominated movie of the 2026 Golden Globes, with nine nominations. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, for his role in The Smashing Machine. Co-star Emily Blunt has a nomination in the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture category.

The team behind Amazon's hit Fallout TV show are gearing up to film Season 3 "next summer," with the hope that there won't be a huge gap between the end of Season 2 and what's next.

In an interview with IGN, below, executive producer Jonathan Nolan told us that while television "tak[es] longer and longer from season to season" to prep and film, he's keen to see the show "back on the air as soon as we can."

"With regards to production, we're hoping to be shooting again next summer," Nolan told us. "We'll see if that all comes together — best laid plans and all. But I'm excited that though the scope of the show feels undiminished season on season, you know, Geneva [Robertson-Dworet] and Graham [Wagner] and our incredibly talented cast and crew were able to work quickly enough to get back on the air in a reasonable amount of time.

"I think what's happened with television in terms of, you know, taking longer and longer from season to season is an unfortunate trend. You don't want the show to lose any of its scope, [so] we like to be back on the air as soon as we can."

The new season picks up in the aftermath of Season 1’s finale and travels through the wasteland of the Mojave to the post-apocalyptic city of New Vegas. The eight-episode season will premiere on December 17, with one episode rolling out weekly until the season finale on February 4, 2026. Fans of Obsidian's much-loved video game will be interested to hear that Season 2 takes a "fog of war" approach to how it juggles Fallout: New Vegas' various endings.

Don't forget that Bethesda and Xbox recently teamed up with Amazon and Samsung so fans watching via Samsung TV Plus can stream Fallout Season 1 for free. This means Season 1 is available subscription-free on Samsung TV Plus from now through to December 25. Samsung TV Plus is a free, ad-supported streaming service available on Samsung TV, Galaxy, Smart Monitor, and Family Hubs devices.

IGN's Fallout Season 1 review returned a 9/10. We called the show "a bright and funny apocalypse filled with dark punchlines and bursts of ultra-violence [and] among the best video game adaptations ever made."

To help tide you over until Season 2 premieres on December 17, here's our interview with Todd Howard and Jonathan Nolan covering all our burning questions after the end of Season 1.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

GameStop says it accepted more than 80,000 items during this weekend's 'Trade Anything Day' event — and shared images with IGN of the weirdest items it accepted, including a bobcat, a goose, and a physical Netflix disc for the Nintendo Wii.

The chain's big trade-in event was the latest publicity stunt from the company, this time designed to highlight its trade-in program that provides customers with store credit or cash for a range of home entertainment items.

Normally, this range would not extend to taxidermied animals, road signs, or people's artwork of their pets with hair like Snoop Dogg. But this past Saturday, December 6, GameStop advertised it would provide (some) credit for (almost) anything its customers cared to bring in.

In a statement to IGN, GameStop ranked its "more memorable trades" from stores across the country as including items such as "a tiny Jesus," "a speed limit sign," Air Jordans, and tapes of Friends on VHS.

Over on social media, customers celebrated shifting various unwanted items in exchange for credit, including McDonalds Grinchmas socks, and what looked to be a replica of the United States Declaration of Independence. Another customer, seemingly joking, claimed they tried to trade-in a live pet dog, which they said had been refused.

Perhaps most bizarre of all were the taxidermied goose and bobcat — both of which appear to have seen better days. Photos of both lie above, alongside some of the other traded-in items that GameStop accepted.

Last week, GameStop hit the headlines for another trade-in story, as it paid out more than $30,000 for a rare Pokémon card. According to the retailer, that transaction was evidence its trade-in program offered fair value — though it simultaneously admitted the card had actually been worth at least $3,000 more. "Any trolls who publicly claim that GameStop trade-in values are bad are hereby factually and demonstrably incorrect," the chain stated.

And just this morning, IGN reported on new GameStop listing for Resident Evil Requiem that includes mention of an unanounced character in the game (no, not that one). We've contacted GameStop for comment on that, but are yet to hear back.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

James Gunn has announced that Supergirl will get its debut trailer this week, while offering a tease of what’s to come.

Hot on the heels of the reveal of the Supergirl costume at CCXP 2025 in São Paulo, Brazil, the DC Studios co-CEO confirmed the trailer release alongside a brief snippet of footage showing Kara Zor-El patiently waiting for a spaceship to land next to her. It is a sort of intergalactic bus stand? If so, where is Supergirl traveling to? Supergirl, played by Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon star Milly Alcock, is seen wearing sunglasses, wind blowing her hair and coat as the spaceship lands. She doesn’t look in the best of moods. She might even be hungover from a big night.

Supergirl is heavily inspired by Tom King and Bilquis Evely's comic, Woman of Tomorrow, which features a very different Supergirl than audiences are perhaps accustomed to. In July, Gunn said the DC Universe version of Supergirl is “a total mess.”

Teaser trailer this week. #Supergirl pic.twitter.com/R9a44CwIPr

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 7, 2025

As revealed in this summer’s DCU kickstarter Superman, Supergirl got drunk on a planet bathed in the light of a red sun (it’s impossible for Superman or any Kryptonian to get drunk on Earth due to the empowering effects of our yellow sun). But beyond this, clearly Supergirl is suffering from mental health issues that are driving her to drink, the result of a very different upbringing compared to her cousin’s.

“I mean, I think as we learn, she's had a completely different background from Superman,” Gunn continued. “A much more difficult background. He's had this wonderful upbringing by these two parents that loved him and were very healthy. And her background was much different than that. And she's ended up different than her cousin.”

“In our story, we have Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by incredibly loving parents,” Gunn has explained. “Kara was on Krypton. She was on a piece of Krypton that drifted away from the planet and she lived there for the first 14 years of her life in a horrible situation where she watched everyone around her die. So, she’s a much harsher and more f***ed up Supergirl than you’ve been used to thus far.”

Recently, Gunn has called Supergirl a “space fantasy” — and said it will have a different tone than Superman. It’s more like Gunn’s own Guardians of the Galaxy, he’s said. For more, check out IGN’s article, Superman Introduces the Girl of Steel: Here's Why This Version of Supergirl Is So Different.

Supergirl also promises to continue the House of El subplot from Superman as she celebrates her 21st birthday by traveling across the galaxy with her dog, Krypto (last seen being a very bad boy in Superman). We know Lobo is in the movie, played by Jason Momoa, but not much else.

DC Studios is currently under a great deal of scrutiny following the news of Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Some are concerned about the future of theatrical releases for Warner Bros. movies, which includes all films released by DC Studios. But Netflix has insisted the two businesses will operate independently until the deal is signed, sealed, and delivered, which it expects could take up to 18 months.

Supergirl has a June 26, 2026 release date, so you'd imagine it's safe from any potential move from Netflix to release it on the streaming platform around or soon after launch.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Shenmue developer Ys Net has threatened legal action over a widely-circulated video designed to look like leaked footage of Shenmue 4.

The footage popped up on social media last week and was promptly shared by numerous websites, even as questions regarding the video's origins and authenticity swirled.

Now, Ys Net has released a statement to confirm that the footage "has absolutely no connection" to itself and uses the company's logo without permission. Additionally, Ys Net claimed that such acts "may amount to trademark infringement and unfair competition" and therefore it was now preparing "appropriate measures" and exploring legal options.

Breaking News ‼️

A trailer for Shenmue IV appears to have been leaked from Sega. It is not yet verified by Sega but it seems to be real. pic.twitter.com/GMOlFFgCuw

— SuperSisi (@SuperSisi) December 5, 2025

While some fans took the lengthy "Shenmue 4" clip as too elaborate to be fake, others pointed to a handful of wonky animation effects and its fan-baiting story to suggest it was an elaborate creation made by a fan using generative AI.

Just last month, IGN reported on the increasingly convincing AI-generated GTA 6 "leaks" that are racking up millions of views on social media, as many users simply take what they see at face value.

While generative AI and deepfake technology are nothing new, the past few months have seen a fresh generation of tools such as Sora 2 and Google's Nano Banana Pro pump out generated content that's now increasingly difficult to distinguish from the real thing. Last week's Shenmue 4 video is, seemingly, yet another example of this.

"Ys Net Inc. has confirmed that a video has been posted on social media which uses our company logo without permission, falsely giving the impression that it is an an official 'Shenmue 4' related video produced by us," the company wrote. "This video has absolutely no connection to Ys Net. Furthermore, at this time, Ys Net has not released any trailers, footage or other promotional materials related to 'Shenmue 4.'

"We recognize that the unauthorized use of our logo, and any act that misleads viewers into believing such content is official, constitutes a serious issues that may amount to trademark infringement and unfair competition. W are currently working with relevant parties and preparing appropriate measures, including potential legal action.

"We sincerely apologize to our fans and all related parties for any confusion this may have caused. We will continue to ensure the proper and accurate dissemination of information, and we ask for your understanding and cooperation."

As of now, it's unknown if a fourth major Shenmue game will ever get made, though the franchise's hardcore fanbase certainly hope it eventually happens. Last year, a group of fans paid to briefly rent a billboard in New York's Times Square to highlight their hopes for a Shenmue 4. Alas, it's unknown if the stunt had much impact.

Currently, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki is working on an enhanced version of Shenmue 3, which wll see the 2019 action adventure release on new platforms with new features and enhanced visuals. Suzuki told IGN in 2023 that he wants to create a fourth game eventually but, following the poor critical reception of the third game, would look to make it more accessible to new fans.

"Rejoining Ryo Hazuki’s quest to avenge his father is exciting, but Shenmue 3 feels like a game that has ignored the innovation and progress of the last 20 years of video game development," IGN wrote in our Shenmue 3 review, scoring the game 5/10.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Alien: Earth creator Noah Hawley has publicly stated that the TV spinoff series will not feature a crossover with Predator, ruling out an appearance from the Yautja in Season 2 and beyond.

Dan Trachtenberg’s recently released Predator: Badlands — officially the highest-grossing Predator movie of all time, including the AvP movies — is packed full of so many Alien references that it essentially a Predator / Alien crossover movie in all but name. Indeed, one of its stars, Elle Fanning, plays two Weyland-Yutani synths in the movie.

But it seems Alien: Earth will not join the crossover party. Hawley recently confirmed he is “not coordinating” a Predator appearance in the Alien spinoff TV show with Trachtenberg, who he says he has only met once.

“No, not onto the show, I don’t think,” Hawley said of the possibility of a Predator crossover on the Smartless podcast. “I think Dan Trachtenberg, who made Prey and has made the Badlands movie — you know, I loved Prey. I think he’s doing a great job with that franchise. He clearly has a plan there. I’ve met Dan once, we’re not kind of coordinating any of that stuff. So, it’s not really my plan to do it.”

While Alien: Earth is clearly out there in the vacuum of space doing its own thing, Trachtenberg sounds full speed ahead on realizing his vision of a Predator Cinematic Universe. Trachtenberg, who directed franchise reviver Prey and the animated film Killer of Killers before the record-breaking Predator: Badlands, is clearly building towards something, with characters from previous films in the franchise popping up in cameo form across his various Predator projects. Indeed, at the end of Killer of Killers we see Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic Predator character Dutch in stasis, just begging to be thawed for an all-star team up at some point in the future.

While Trachtenberg is keeping his cards close to his chest in terms of his next Predator movie, he told Variety in a recent interview that his intention is that each Predator movie is “a complete thought,” and has learnt a valuable lesson from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“It can all go out the door once we start putting pen to paper on stuff, but I’ve looked as far as I could to feel comfortable about what I’m doing,” Trachtenberg said. “Every movie is a complete thought, not that much unlike the early Marvel stuff before the first Avengers movie, where it’s like, those are great movies, and lo and behold, we’re actually setting up that things could come together in a delicious way. But they weren’t like, ‘See how everything’s interconnected like crazy all of a sudden!’ So I’m trying to learn that lesson and make sure that any of these movies that we do are awesome ideas for movies on their own.”

Variety then pressed Trachtenberg on the possible of tying all his threads together to form an Avengers-style payoff, since be brought the movie up.

“It’s hard,” he responded. “It’s fun to geek out and think, ‘Oh my god, wouldn’t it be cool if…,’ even on a movie that you’d never expect that to happen in. But it’s only cool if the journey there is equally worth taking.”

As for Alien: Earth, Season 2 is confirmed as part of an overall new deal that FX and Disney Entertainment Television have sealed with showrunner Noah Hawley. It begins filming in London in 2026. Be sure to check out Alien: Earth Season 1 Ending Explained – How It Can All Fit Into the Bigger Alien Movie Universe feature to find out more.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding developer Hideo Kojima says his upcoming horror game, OD, is "challenging" to develop because, unlike his prior games, this one required a change in how he makes games "from the ground up."

OD isn't the first time Kojima has dabbled in horror, of course. P.T. is his uniquely terrifying spin on the horror genre, presented via a home filled with unexpected encounters and bizarre mysteries. In the end, P.T. revealed itself to be a "Playable Trailer" for the secret project Silent Hills, which never came to fruition. For many — myself included — it's considered one of the scariest video game experiences of all time.

Unfortunately, Konami cancelled Silent Hills in 2015 after a painfully public fallout with Kojima. The free-to-play demo was then scrubbed from PlayStation Network, provoking false rumors that the company was removing already downloaded copies of the demo from PS4 consoles worldwide. OD seems to pick up where P.T. left off, at least in spirit, and its latest trailer suggests it's going to be every bit as terrifying, sparking speculation that it is connected to P.T. in some way.

The mysterious game will star Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' Sophia Lillis, Hunters' Udo Kier, and Euphoria's Hunter Schafer, with the trailer showcasing Lillis' character in a spooky house, lighting candles before meeting a malevolent figure.

Now, talking to ananweb, as translated by Automaton, Kojima admitted that he's not entirely sure that OD "will work out," but did suggest that there are plenty of clues packed into the trailer.

"I can’t say exactly what it is yet, nor do I know if it will work out. We’ve created stealth games and delivery games which were unlike anything before, but system-wise, they were similar to other games," Kojima said. "This time, we’re trying to change the service model from the ground up, so it should be quite challenging.

"We’ve packed the trailer full of hints, so if you keep thinking about it, you might figure it out," he added.

And we have indeed been thinking about it! Check out our thoughts on how OD may indeed connect with P.T. right here.

In October, IGN reported that The Wachowskis, the writers and directors behind the Matrix movies, once asked Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima to design a Matrix video game, but publisher Konami reportedly turned it down. "The Wachowskis were big fans of Kojima," Konami Digital Entertainment VP of licensing, Christopher Bergstresser, said at the time. "So Kazumi Kitaue, Kojima, Aki Saito (who still works with Kojima), and I were at the Konami HQ, and we got a call from the Wachowskis, who wanted to come in and meet with Kojima. So they did!"

Kojima responded to the claim just a few hours later, saying he was "surprised" to read the news, insisting: "no one ever told me such a conversation had taken place."

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has secured a box office win despite a critical mauling.

In 2023, Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s, which adapts the hugely popular video game series by Scott Cawthon, became the highest-grossing horror film of the year. Now, two years later, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 has earnt a huge $109 million at the global box office during launch weekend. While that isn't as big as Five Nights at Freddy’s $160 million box office debut, it's enough to take the number one spot at the domestic box office with an impressive $63 million haul.

The box office success comes amid one of the biggest Rotten Tomatoes critic-audience score divides ever. On the review score aggregator, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has just 12% on the Tomatometer from 84 reviews from critics, whereas it has 88% on the Popcornmeter, which tracks user review sentiment. IGN’s Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review returned a 3/10. We said: “Five Nights at Freddy's 2 gives sequels, video game adaptations, and gateway horror movies a bad name.”

But Universal Pictures said it expects continued box office momentum for the film, “fueled by strong social media buzz and word-of-mouth.”

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 secured a number of domestic box office records, including becoming the second-largest horror opening of 2025 behind only The Conjuring: Last Rites. With this debut, Blumhouse–Atomic Monster now holds four of the top 10 biggest horror openings of the year (The Conjuring: Last Rites, Five Nights At Freddy’s 2, Black Phone 2, and The Monkey).

Domestically, it’s also the highest opening weekend for a PG-13 horror film in 2025, surpassing Predator: Badlands, and it had a record-breaking post-Thanksgiving opening, now the highest ever at the domestic box office, ahead of The Last Samurai. And finally, it’s the biggest December horror opening domestically, topping Scream 2.

Scream star Matthew Lillard, who plays William Afton, has already spoken about his hope that Five Nights at Freddy's 3 gets made, and with this box office success it now seems likely. “Our hope is that we get to do three films. That’s always been the plan. Everything is dependent on how the movie does in theaters,” Lillard said.

Lillard was recently in the headlines for responding to an insult from Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino, saying "it f***ing sucks." With Five Nights at Freddy's 2 out the door, he’s set to reprise his role as Stuart "Stu" Macher in Scream 7, and will play a villain in MCU Disney+ show, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp has been given a custom piece of artwork showing his fan-favorite character Captain Jack Sparrow in the style of One Piece, drawn by the anime's creator Eiichiro Oda.

Depp was presented with the artwork, printed on a Japanese door curtain, by Hiroaki Hirata — the actor who dubs Jack Sparrow in the country, and who also voices One Piece's Sanji.

During a brief appearance on stage at Tokyo Comic Convention 2025, Hirata told Depp that he had "got this designed by my comic artist friend." Grinning, Depp commented: "I just want to cover myself in it," before disappearing behind the curtain and popping back out again.

Johnny Depp made an appearance onstage today at Tokyo Comic Convention 2025. Hiroaki Hirata, the VA for Sanji and Depp’s JP dub actor, appeared, “I have a friend who draws a certain manga about pirates..,” before presenting Depp with noren curtain of Jack Sparrow drawn by Oda!!😍 pic.twitter.com/LIGJJD4lXx

— sandman (@sandman_AP) December 7, 2025

Depp then wrapped up his appearance by thanking fans for their ongoing support. "I feel as though there are more of you than there are, but that could just be part of my brain or maybe I'm lying in a hospital bed ill and none of this is happening, I don't know," Depp said. "But while it's happening, while I'm experiencing seeing all of these faces out here, thank you, thank you, for your respect, your love."

After a number of years away from the spotlight following his high-profile legal issues with former wife Amber Heard, Depp has been linked to a string of projects as the actor seeks a career comeback. In October, it was reported that Depp would play Ebenezer Scrooge in a new adaptation of Charles Dickens' beloved A Christmas Carol for Paramount Pictures, due to release on November 13, 2026.

Assuming everything goes as planned, Depp's role as Scrooge will be his first major booking since 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Depp has also said he's working on creating the character of Hyde for a new graphic novel with Ridley Scott, and will next be seen in cinemas alongside Penélope Cruz in Lionsgate’s American action thriller Day Drinker, which carries a 2026 release date.

But, of course, it's Depp's iconic role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean which fans are most keen to whether the actor will reprise. And, as long-gestating plans for a sixth entry in the swashbuckling blockbuster series finally begin to materialize, there's fresh signs that Depp could return.

Back in August, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed he had spoken to Depp about returning as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 — and it sounded like the actor was interested. "If he likes the way the part's written, I think he would do it," Bruckheimer said. "It's all about what's on the page, as we all know."

There have been encouraging words from Depp's former cast members, too. In June, Orlando Bloom, who plays blacksmith-turned-pirate Will Turner in the franchise, said: "I personally think it'd be great to get the band back together. That would be great, but there are always different ideas, and so we'll see where it lands." For now, Pirates of the Caribbean 6 currently lacks any kind of formal announcement or release date.

Image credit: Jun Sato/WireImage via Getty.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

A GameStop listing for Resident Evil Requiem has stated that the game's Deluxe Edition will include costumes for a shock second character — and no, it's not who you might think.

Over the past year, the internet has been waiting for Capcom to confirm that Resident Evil hero Leon S. Kennedy is in Resident Evil Requiem as a second playable character. There have been rumors, there have been AI image leaks, and there have been increasingly cryptic teases from Capcom itself.

And it's against this backdrop that fans have been left stunned, as GameStop's Resident Evil Requiem Deluxe Edition listing has gone live and mentioned exclusive content for... Rosemary Winters.

Rosmary Winters?! The daughter of Resident Evil 7 and Village protagonist Ethan Winters, Rosemary initially appears in the latter game as a baby, though has a starring role in that game's Shadows of Rose expansion, set in the future when she is a teenager.

Her inclusion here, if GameStop's listing is indeed to be believed, is a huge curveball for Resident Evil fans — as Requiem has so far been pitched as an entry that ties the series back to its roots in Raccoon City. Indeed, Capcom has even said that it wanted the game to tie up older plot threads (such has what happened to Umbrella) rather than focus on characters from more recent games. But perhaps it sees Rosemary as an opportunity to close off those, too.

GameSpot seems to have accidentally just posted more Deluxe Edition content for Resident Evil Requiem, which includes some spoilers, including Mercenaries Mode, Grace having a "FBI Visor" mechanic, & two planned story DLC for RE9. pic.twitter.com/7HoZbqTUzp

— AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem (@AestheticGamer1) December 7, 2025

GameStop's listing states the Deluxe Edition includes a "'Morphic Visor' cosmetic filter for Rose's visor" and the "Shadow Walker' costume pack: 3 exclusive outfits for Rosemary Winters." There's also mention of two additional story scenarious and a "major" Mercenaries mode update, included in an expansion pass. None of this content is officially announced.

The listing has come as such a surprise to fans that there is some skepticism over its legitimacy — even as it sits on the website of GameStop, one of the world's biggest video game retailers. Fan speculation has run the gamut here — that the retailer has been hacked, or the entry updated by a rogue employee just to watch fans react as they are now doing. Or, alternatively, it's real — and an accident, or even yet another canny piece of marketing from the chain.

And as for Leon? Well, there's certainly no sign in GameStop's listing. What does this mean for his inclusion? Well, if GameStop's listing is accurate, simply that he's not a part of the Deluxe Edition content.

Whatever's going on, all eyes will be on Resident Evil Requiem's appearance at The Game Awards later this week, where Capcom is expected to tease fans with more on the game, now just a few months from launch. Will we see Leon? Will we see Rose? IGN will be reporting live — and in the meantime, we've contacted GameStop for comment.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social